In Too Deep
by captainholmes
Summary: Carter needs help. Reese and Finch can provide this help for her. But John finds out too late that he is in too deep, and his feelings for Carter can affect his judgement when protecting her...Carter/Reese. Rated T


**_A/N: Thank you again for all of you. I'm sorry for the delayed updates and new stories - schoolwork is nasty sometimes, and equations upon worksheets upon past papers upon essays is what I've been doing this week. Literally I come home, have dinner, do homework, sleep, and if I have time I'll write a little. Now is one of those times. So, enjoy my friends, and please remember I love you all! :)_**

John Reese was not in the mood for talking this morning. On the streets of his ci where the babble was loud and the people were rude, there was not much room for cheering up. He was not in the mood for the petty and pathetic gossip sessions held on street corners at fancy french cafés with those dainty silver tables and chairs outside, taking up half of the sidewalk. They did more than annoy him, they distracted him, but not in a good way. He did not need distractions. He needed to find the person he was searching for, and that was one Caroline Wetts. He could not see her from where he stood, but he knew she would be there soon. And if he needed to spot her amongst the business, then he would need to focus and try not to get distracted. That was hard, considering there were so many.

He was not in the mood for the hurrying business man, rushing past him and spilling coffee all down the arm of his new suit. He was certainly not in the mood for the crowds of people who seemed to like to push in to him and make him feel like he was in a crowded room and everyone there did not want to be with him. Instead he would have to go directly to that stupid café and wait there. Finch had told him this morning that's where she had scheduled a meeting with a possible perpetrator, William Holt, who she had been making money deals with in exchange for promotion to her business. She seemed like a normal woman just trying to make it in the world. Hopefully she would.

Giving up on standing around on the corner and being pushed and rough handled by every passer by, he retreated into the safety of the closed off café 'garden', perching himself on one of the chairs rather like they were going to disease him.

It was not a matter of the people around him doing things that annoyed him. It was the fact that they could do things without a worry or a care, that their flippant behavior hurt no one, that they couldn't give away someone's life by making a small mistake. They had normal lives. They did not spend their Monday mornings standing at a busy corner, wondering when or where they would have to go next. But you chose this life, he reminded himself calmly. Another voice from the back of his head jumped in. _But I sure wish I hadn't._

Most of all, John Reese was not in the mood for his boss/business partner, one Harold Finch. Only yesterday had he begun becoming secretive, closed off, and that worried John. If Finch couldn't tell his partner what was going on, who could he tell? And if it was that secretive, did it put Finch in danger? Could he help in any way? Apparently not.

He had just been going to work as usual, but when the door opened to Finch's large library, there was Finch, looking as healthy as ever. He didn't look annoyed or worried or tired, just his normal self, but today he was a lot different. Firstly, he wasn't answering John. He also didn't seem to have time to update him on where Caroline was. Obviously he was preoccupied with something, because he wasn't returning any calls. Upon calling him over three times that morning about two hours after he had sent John the information about their number, and not receiving a reply, John decided that he should check the library, in case something happened, but he wasn't there either. Well, whatever. There mustn't have been any more numbers if he didn't get in contact with him. But the thing was, Finch was always reachable. He knew he wasn't in trouble because his phone was turned on, he just wasn't answering the calls - in fact he was rejecting them manually - and whatever he was up to that was of more importance to him than his friend, well, screw it. Instead of worrying about the genius he would just have to sit back, relax and enjoy the morning. If only he knew how to do that.

Finch had been acting in secrecy for some of yesterday and of course, today. When or if he would ever tell what he was up to, John did not know, but it did not do well to guess. He could have been doing anything, beyond the wildest stretches of the imagination, and that made it impossible to know exactly what was going on in Finch's life. Not only was he a private man but one of great wonder, with no expenses and no limits, there was no telling what he would come up with next. Gee, if he had the money, couldn't he just have the time to drop a text to someone waiting and worried about him? Didn't he think about things like that anymore?

As if on cue, a noise came from John's pocket. Bleep, bleep. The sound from his phone made him almost jump, because he was not expecting a reply. Two hours late, he added to his thoughts darkly as he flipped the phone out of his pocket. ONE NEW MESSAGE: FINCH

_**Sorry, I was busy with something. Has she arrived yet?**_

"Oh, so _now_ you want me to reply?" John muttered under his breath, but he wasn't really angry at his friend. In fact, he was relieved, as doing nothing except staring at the cracks in the grey pavement was putting him on edge. So, instead of listening to the women blabber on about who cheated on who or making way for the men rushing to somewhere, anywhere or becoming lost, another face in the endless, ongoing crowd, he sat back, texting with one hand and sipping his half empty coffee with the other.

_No, she hasn't. _

The reply was almost immediate.

**_I knew you'd say that. She'll be there in 10 minutes. She just left._**

* * *

The distance between the abandoned library building and the street corner were not that far; in fact, even with Finch being held up with the hoards of people enjoying their day off and the street lights that never seemed to change, and even a short conversation with a man he had never seen before, he made it there in under ten minutes. Call it curiosity, call it relief, whatever it was, he found himself outside the street corner café so soon. Bear was tugging on his lead excitedly, and it hurt Finch to walk that fast, but he didn't resist. He needed to get there quickly, anyway.

He was to meet Carter here for further discussion. It was the same café John was in, and he had to smile. It was as if Carter had a sixth sense. She didn't know John would be there when she told Finch to meet her there, but she clearly knew now. For standing outside with her hands on her hips, tapping her feet on the pavement, stood a very pissed Detective. When she saw Finch, she narrowed her eyes.

"He's in there!" she hissed as she walked towards him, linking his arm and walking him in the opposite direction. Bear had noticed John inside the café, his eyes set on a couple who were deep in conversation, and refused to move from outside the café door. That was, until, Carter hauled Finch so fast he was sent flying forward with the tug of the lead, and Finch grinned.

"So? He'll have to find out sometime, Detective Carter," Finch reminded her seriously. Her face was solemn, and she tried not to let any emotions show. Joss Carter was not an emotional woman. She had to be strong, first for herself but now for her family. Her mother and son mattered too much to her to give in to petty feelings. She took a deep breath and pulled Finch side so the crowds could pass by freely.

"Look," she said, her voice low and her eyes narrowed. "John has a lot more to worry about than me. It could be nothing. But something tells me HR are stepping up, and they want me out of the way so they can do that. I don't know, I'm not sure, but they may want rid of Donnelly too. And Fusco seems to be on edge lately. Hell, we all are! They're trying to expand pretty quickly."

Fusco was starting to annoy her by now, not by his personal actions, as in the small amount of time she had to interact with him this weekshe hadn't done much except make small talk or talk about cases, but it wasn't in their funny sort of sarcastic way. It wasn't this that annoyed Carter, it was that she had to work around him and his secrets, as he was taking up most of his time on the phone or in hushed conversations. Maybe if Fusco could make her understand she would be less annoyed, but until then she was stuck in reluctant acceptance. She sighed and turned her attention back to Finch.

"Harold, he can't know just yet. He'll want to pursue them and he can't, do you understand? There are people in danger out there who need his help besides me. And anyway, I have Fusco if I need him." Finch swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew about Fusco's dark past, and clearly he was worried or caught up in something. He felt the need to tell Detective Carter about Lionel's escapades, but she would be angry and confused and anyway, it wasn't his job to do so. He made a mental note to make Fusco realise he would have to tell her soon, and tried to move the conversation along.

"Alright, then. Perhaps we should go somewhere else instead of this café. You wanted to discuss what you've discovered in person, yes?" Carter nodded. She knew that she would have to tell someone and the first person she trusted with it was Finch. It would have been John, had he not been busy. She would entrust John with her life, her family, everything she had. But right now she couldn't endanger him. She sighed, ready to debate a place to go.

Suddenly, there was a loud ringing sound, and a the sound of a shot rolled out of the café. It was followed by screams and yells, and then the breaking of the glass behind Carter and Finch. Carter had more instinct and turned as soon as she heard the start of the shot, ready to take her gun from its holster, when the glass broke and out tumbled the man at the table. She decided against revealing she was a cop. She knew John had done it, and they would have to go.

Finch was not as quick to react. He jumped, then turned towards the window. It took him a split second longer to register that John would be fleeing the café soon and would probably spot him, and his look of understanding was immediately met by a nod by Carter. They were about to head off in the other direction but they had forgotten Bear sitting at their feet. He had witnessed John putting the man through the window and he was doubly excited. He ran around Finch's feet, skidding around Carter and did it twice for good measure, tangling them in his lead. He needed to go see John and assist him if necessary. Before Finch could even command he sit he was sprinting towards the door of the café. The lead pulled tight and Carter yelped as she was pulled to the ground with Harold, gripping his sleeve rightly as they sprawled out on the pavement, their legs caught in the lead.

Carter closed her eyes and braced herself for being trailed towards the front of the café by the hyperactive dog, but it didn't come. She stayed where she was. Slowly she opened her eyes, and she noticed Bear sitting to attention about a metre away from her, breathing heavily, as if waiting for a command. Her eyes followed his coat right up to his ears, and her eyes travelled further up to the front of the café, which she couldn't see past the tall man in the suit with the bruising on his forehead and a slightly amused grin on his face.

"Detective Carter, Harold. You seem to be in a...tangle." John Reese raised his eyebrows. "Care to tell me what's going on?"

**_A/N: DUN DUN DUNNN! I'm sorry for the people who were expecting a new story. I've been sick, experienced writer's block, been so busy with school and I've also been studying for my exams that are coming up soon. I had a huge Math exam and I have another soon and I'm really looking to get 90% and above. So, my little circle theorems, make sure your triangle has a diameter as a side so that you stay right angled! :) I'm tired.._**


End file.
